PALMER - Two people were found dead Tuesday afternoon in a mobile home, and police are blaming the deaths on an unvented propane heater.

Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said a woman in her 20s and a man in his 60s were found dead at approximately 3 p.m. at 106 Emery St. in the Bondsville section when the woman's boyfriend returned home from work. The man was his father, Frydryk said.

Frydryk said the heater was designed for use outdoors, and said State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan is on the scene. More information is expected to be released at a Tuesday night press conference at the Bondsville fire station.

Power is not expected to be fully restored in Palmer until Friday, and an emergency shelter has been set up at Converse Middle School on Converse Street for residents looking for warmth.

Frydryk said residents need to be careful as they attempt to heat their homes through alternative means during this prolonged power outage.

"Don't use an outdoor heater indoors," Frydryk said.

Generators also should be used outdoors. On Monday, he said the Fire Department got a call because residents were using a generator in the garage and had opened the doors, but carbon monoxide still got into the house, setting off the carbon monoxide detector.

Generators should be placed outside a home, according to public safety officials.